June 7, 2007

Winter wheat coming in strong

RICHMOND—If you think you’ve been seeing more wheat than usual in Virginia farm fields, you’re right.

Virginia farmers are on track to harvest a slightly larger winter wheat crop than last year, and a 6-percent-larger crop than in 2005. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Virginia wheat production could total about 10.68 million bushels this year.

Part of the increase in production can be attributed to changing crop patterns in Southeast Virginia, according to Tony Banks, assistant director of commodities and marketing for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

“As people have been changing crop rotations due to the loss of peanut production, we have seen more producers interested in growing wheat for grain, not just as a winter cover crop,” Banks said.

“It used to be that peanuts had to be planted before wheat could be harvested, so many growers just used [wheat] as a cover crop. Now demand for wheat as an alternative feed source is helping boost its price.”

Wheat was ranked as the eighth most valuable crop in Virginia in 2005, generating $32.3 million in cash receipts. But Virginia produces less than 1 percent of the nation’s total wheat crop, so don’t look for local production trends to make much of an impact.

The May 11 NASS report notes that the forecast for the U.S. winter wheat crop is up 24 percent from last year, to 1.62 billion bushels. As in Virginia, Banks said, demand for wheat as an alternative feed source for livestock may be behind that jump.

“It’s no secret that demand for corn is affecting the markets significantly this year,” Banks said. “Corn prices are up because of continued strong feed demand, and ethanol production is expected to consume a much larger share of that crop. So other feed prices are rising too, as farmers anticipate filling that market share. Wheat cannot be substituted for corn on a one-to-one basis, but you can adjust feed rations and mix it with corn for livestock feed.”

Very little Virginia wheat is used for baking bread, Banks added. Virginia farmers primarily raise a soft red winter wheat type, compared to the white and hard red wheat types raised in the Midwest. Most Virginia-grown wheat will be used as livestock feed.

Contact Banks at 804-290-1114 or Norm Hyde, VFBF video producer, 804-290-1146.